JEDDAH: A group of Indian expatriates, including academics and former leaders of the National Service Scheme (NSS), has formed an organization known as the Indian Volunteer Service Scheme (IVSS) in order to promote a culture of volunteerism among the Indian expatriate community, including school students.
IVSS is the brainchild of Dr. Ismail Marutheri, a university professor and a former NSS program officer, who has mobilized public opinion on the need for such an organization in the aftermath of the Nov. 25 Jeddah floods that killed at least 122 people and destroyed houses and businesses of both Saudis and expatriates.
The IVSS was officially launched recently with the participation of a number of former NSS volunteers, who recollected their experiences during their college days. “Most of them recalled how NSS changed their attitude toward the community work,” said Marutheri.
Salah Karadan, chairman of the International Indian School Managing Committee, opened the meeting and stressed the importance of developing a sense of social service among teenagers. He shared his experiences as a member of various volunteer organizations during his university years.
E.G. Raju, NSS coordinator for the Kerala State Higher Secondary Schools, addressed the gathering by phone and expressed his immense pleasure at the formation of IVSS in a Gulf country.
He offered all support and assistance to start NSS units at Indian schools in the Kingdom. He also promised help to get IVSS registered with the Ministry of Youth Affairs in India and secure the status of an NGO to organize various educational and cultural activities.
Nassar Chavakkad, a former NSS volunteer captain of the Sri Krishna College Guruvayoor, said he was the leader of an NSS unit that adopted a village in a district of Kerala. “Those days really played a significant role in molding my attitude toward the deprived and poor in our society,” he said. Ubaidulla E.P., former Farook College Student Union chairman, stressed the need to instill a culture of volunteerism among the younger generation. “It is the need of the hour to inculcate a sense of communal amity, social service and compassion among Indian expatriate students in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
A committee has been set up to plan and oversee the IVSS’ activities in the Kingdom. Karadan is its chief patron, Marutheri is its director and Ubaidulla chief program coordinator.
Saju Joseph, Nassar Chavakkad, Balachandran Payyannur, Noufal Pallikkara, Shakir C.K., Yousaf A.K. (Riyadh), Hashim Y. (Dammam) and Shibu Usman (Alkhobar) are coordinators.
"IVSS aims to coordinate and facilitate social service and intends to organize social service-oriented personality development programs among the Indian expatriate community," said Marutheri. "We hope that IVSS will become an extension of NSS, an affiliate of the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs," he added.
He said Indian expatriate students had been deprived of many opportunities enjoyed by their counterparts in the home country through various co-curricular programs. "IVSS is determined to provide Indian students in Saudi Arabia with such opportunities."
